Conjugating the Spanish Verb Dormir (to sleep)

Spanish verbs fall into different groups, and each group is conjugated a little differently. If you’re going to master Spanish verbs like dormir (to sleep), you need to be able to identify which group a verb belongs to:

• Regular: Follows regular conjugation rules for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs
• Stem-changing: Morphs depending on how you use it in a sentence
• Spelling-changing: Has consonant-spelling changes in some forms to follow pronunciation rules
• Reflexive: Reflects the action back on the subject of the sentence

Present tense conjugation

In the present tense, dormir (dohr-meer) has an o-to-ue stem change in all but the nosotros and vosotros forms. Other popular irregular Spanish verbs include leer, venir, querer, ser. Here’s the present tense conjugation: The following examples show you dormir in action:

• ¿Duermes bien, José? (Do you sleep well, José?)

• Sí. Yo duermo bien todas las noches. (Yes. I sleep well every night.)

Preterit tense conjugation

In the preterit, dormir undergoes an o-to-u stem change in the third-person singular and third-person plural forms only. All the other forms conjugate normally. Take a look. You use the preterit tense like this:

• La profesora durmió. (The professor slept.)

• Cristina y María durmieron en mi casa. (Cristina and María slept in my house.)

Imperfect tense conjugation

You’re off the hook with the stem change in the imperfect and future forms; dormir conjugates normally in these tenses. Check out the following tables and examples. Here are some examples of the imperfect tense:

• Mi padre dormía y roncaba. (My father used to sleep and snore.)

• ¿Dormíais vosotros en clase? (Did you used to sleep in class?)

Future tense conjugation

The following samples put the future tense to work:

• ¿Dormirán ustedes junto al lago? (Will you sleep near the lake?)

• No. Dormiremos en la cabina. (No. We will sleep in the cabin.)